IMPORTANT NOTE FOR PROSPECTIVE CHOW BUYERS: Since the very first CHOW STANDARDS were penned in 1906, both the English and American versions have stated only solid colored chows are acceptable, with the most recent Chow Standard stating only 5 distinct colors can be registered. Those being RED, BLACK, BLUE, CINNAMON (or fawn), AND CREAM. Over the years the breed has seen short lived “fads” of non conforming colors or “uniques” such as parti colored, piebald, black and tan and brindle striped, and blue merle chows being marketed to the public. These colors most often indicate mixed breed heritage and have never been a part of the Official Chow Chow Breed Standard in any country, at any time, and cannot be given a registration number as one of the unorthodox colors in purebred registries.
Additionally, the blue merle gene can carry with it a host of health issues including deafness and blindness ……. buyers, please do your research and talk to multiple breeders, your veterinarian, and your local purebred breed clubs about your potential new addition before purchasing. Also, be aware that NO COLOR IN THE CHOW BREED IS CONSIDERED ANY MORE VALUABLE THAN THE OTHERS.
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A few years ago while my husband and I were on holiday at the coast with our dogs, we ran into quite a surprise as we were checking out at this dog friendly motel. 2 stately BROWN chows were being exercised by their owners who just happen to own WESTPORT WINERY in Washington State as well
We had such a nice conversation with this couple and they let me take some photos of the chows who were true to temperament and old style beauty. They looked like a living sepia photograph!! I did find out who the breeder was who specializes in brown chows , not for show but for companions. I have been searching for a long time to find more information on this SOLID color, wondering if it had ever been acceptable or shown in the USA. Below I hit a gold mine (or a chocolate waterfall) in this one short article from 1922. Chocolate dogs were bred to black bitches in China to produce deep red puppies
And to add to the proof there was more than one chocolate chow…here is an ad from 1921 that the Eberhart kennel ran advertising a chocolate female chow for sale.
AND VOILA….RED, CHOCOLATE AND GRAY ARE PREFERRED SHOW COLORS IN THE USA IN 1917 AND 1919…WHAT FINDS
WHEN DID THE ” OTHER ” SOLID COLORS CHOWS DESIGNATION DISAPPEAR FROM THE AKC REGISTRATION FORM? ….THE SAME YEAR THE SMOOTH GOT WRITTEN BACK IN……1986. IN MY HISTORIC STUDIES AND FINDINGS, CHOWS WERE NEVER ACCEPTED WITH COATS DISPLAYING ANY PATTERNS OR PATCHES. MERLE, PIEBALD, BRINDLE ETC. ARE EXTREMELY INCORRECT AND DISQUALIFYING COLORS IN THE CHOW BREED .
1906
COLOR – Whole-coloured, black, red, yellow, blue, white etc. not in patches. (The under part of tail and back of thighs frequently of a lighter colour)
1925
COLOR – Any clear color, solid throughout, or, with lighter shadings on ruff, tail and breeching.
1941
COAT – Abundant, dense, straight, and off-standing: rather coarse in texture with a soft , woolly undercoat. It may be any clear color, solid throughout, with lighter shadings on ruff, tail and breechings.
1986
COLOR
Clear colored, solid or solid with lighter shadings in the ruff, tail and featherings. There are five colors in the Chow: red (light golden to deep mahogany), black, blue, cinnamon (light fawn to deep cinnamon) and cream. Acceptable colors to be judged on an equal basis.
if the brown chow have deep black tongues ? i ever seem many brown long hair gods here ,but none of them have deep black tongues, one few of them have light blue tongues .
in the area i living ,there are mainly 3 old breed dogs . the chows ,the rural south china dog(they looks lile the australia wild dog) and another breed that we called tang dog. the tang dog is very solid colors ,and club white ,light yellow ,and brown .and all them have pink nose (the brown color have brown nose ） . and these 3 breed dog living in south china very long time mixed and mixed .so maybe they brown chow is theirs mixed breed and the brown colors is more pure tang dogs so their tongues cant get dark like chows .
Hello Siutin,
The brown will usually have a lighter colored tongue and a brown nose or even some pink shading on the nose as they get older. We have not seen many brown chows because they are not accepted by the Kennel Clubs but the few browns that have been photographed over the years have lighter pigment.
The brown chows I saw in Italy (2017) have a violet tongue, brown nose, brown eye rims, brown pads. They are brown from one end to the other with the exception of shadings on some. They were stunning! The research on these brown chows (how these coats occured when a black x blue breeding occurred) will be published.
This is just how these two we saw were Joanna. They looked like a sepia photograph. It will be interesting to see the documentation .
Message me I have something to share , Sonya Waldron on Facebook , it’s not just from a blue to blk breeding , it’s any two carriers of b and to get lilac you need dilute as well
hi i have been breeding chows for thirty years and have all five colors. I have crossed them in all combinations. and have never come up with a brown same with the now brindle or panda colors. my chows have all got black tongues and noses except the creams that will very often have slate color noses. this is why you will not see white or cream in the show ring very often. when you do they are very impressive, with black noses and tongues. same goes for the original or open face to the wrinkled styled american breed. I prefer the original type that has less health issues.
Yes, Katie I prefer the original type myself too. There are a number of show chows that are not overly heavy in America bred by dedicated breeders who are looking after the Standard and correct breed type. Different parts of the country tend to vary